No Bloodshed
by ColonelKillaBee
Summary: Conan Trevelyan and his mistress Elene look to enjoy their break from the stress of Conan's shipping business, but the inhabitants of Ostwick seem determined to keep them apart. Second story in the small series of background stories I have planned. The first before this is "Fire and Ice". (Pt. 2 of Background)


"Conan! Conan, could you come here already?"

The elven woman waited impatiently, her fingers rapping at the newly polished wooden desk. Her desk, parchment in front of her with newly applied ink, waiting to dry just as Elene waited for an audience with her new lover. It had been only two months and already she found a way to integrate herself in the noble's affairs. Truth be told, he needed her to. He could use all the help he could get at this point with his ragtag group of men. She was impressed before when she saw them, and that they answered to him, but admittedly much less so now. Yes, he'd need her help indeed.

And she was happy to give it, since as nice as living in a man's home was, eating his food and drinking his wine, Elene wasn't one to let men give her things. They always thought that meant she owed them, and that rarely ended well.

Just before she was about to give another shout, Conan's arms suddenly appeared around her shoulders, mouth at her pointed ears.

"Yes?" he whispered playfully, tickling her cheek with his hairy chin while his hair draped over her arm.

Smiling, but pulling away, she said, "Have you seen these shipment logs? First, you missed one shipment due today, so we'll have to either give them a discount, or offer shipment for free, or we lose that contract. Next, there's a dwarf smith looking to get some ores from Orzammar to here, and he's requested our help in doing so but somehow no one has sent him a response back for the past week. It's no wonder things haven't picked up here!"

"That's not true," he said, taking advantage of her moving away by pressing his lips to her exposed neck. "I ignored his request for a good reason."

"What reason is that?" asked Elene, pulling his hair so he'd cease his kissing and look her in the eyes. "Well?"

Sighing, he said, "He's with the Carta. That's Grom's cousin."

"Well of COURSE he's with the Carta! So is every local dwarf, everyone knows that." She said, snickering at her own joke. Though truth be told, it was more true than most people knew, nowadays.

"Yes..." said Conan in frustration while moving closer again, this time cupping a breast as he spoke. Now Elene smiled more deeply, eyes shut and rolling back as he whispered again in her ear. "I know what you say is true, but I also know that that fat sack of nothing fancies himself a spy."

"And why would you need to worry about such things?" she asked, absent minded.

"Because, they've been trying to get me to deal with them for months now, and I've been resisting. We're not hurting that bad, not yet. In fact... I've got good news."

Before she could ask what the news was, Conan's hand slipped down her shirt, so that his grip on her was skin to skin, the rough hands of a warrior on her smooth elven skin being all she thought about now. "I just made another shipment with Reynan from the Dalish, on top of the usual from inside and around the city, which means I've got quite a bit of money this month. Plenty to pay you and the others, some debts, and to buy some other things."

She found it hard to think, let alone speak with his hands on her, and soon she was once again thinking of their first night together. They hadn't had much time for another night like that thanks to work, and she was growing impatient. So it didn't surprise her that it didn't take very long to feel herself trickle at his touch. "Like.. what?" she finally said. After how long a pause, she didn't know, but he didn't seem to mind... "Buying yourself some shame I hope," said Elene again after another pause, knowing full well where this was going next. Conan showed he could be rather creative, and she thought she could guess what was on his mind. "The desk," she thought, smiling internally as much as she was openly. But just as soon as he'd appeared at her back, he'd left her, leaving her tan blouse ruffled and her breast exposed.

"Like some clothes!" he said, walking away as if nothing happened. "Meet me outside, I'm buying."

And just like that, he was out, leaving Elene's face flushed and expression confused. Exhaling in annoyance, she looked down at her garments, rough looking even for the regulars there in the estate.

Standing in defeat and a little more than just frustrated, Elene followed his path, making a note to make him pay later for being such a tease.

Elene was surprised to find that the shemlen she'd been staying with was not only walking beside her in public, but doing so with his hand holding hers. She watched him occasionally as they strolled through Ostwicks paved streets, mainly when he wasn't looking, and she swore that the smile on his face could charm a raven into giving up their stash of nuts in the winter. Conan occasionally caught her glancing at him, and when she smiled in turn, he'd swear the same thing. She was tempted to ask him why he seemed so happy, not believing that it could have truly been because of her, but each time, she'd wait too long and he'd catch her looking at him, and the look on his face took away any doubt of the source.

As if he knew what she was thinking regardless, Conan put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close and sneaking a peak at her breasts happily bouncing beneath her shirt in their stroll before his gaze traveled up her neck and to those fiery eyes of hers. He made no secret of what he was looking at, and she didn't mind at all. She even exaggerated her steps to make it easier for him, until she heard from the side, "Elven whore..."

Her ears immediately perked up at the comment, her head turning towards the slanderer. It was some peasant man tending to his goat, giving her an eye almost as ugly as the beast he was milking. Conan heard the comment too and brushed a finger down the back of her neck.

"Ignore it. They're all just jealous. You remind them of the beauty they could never obtain. His wife probably looks like a genlock."

That made Elene smile again, though he could tell the man's words still stabbed at her. A pang of guilt hang over him, knowing what such a beautiful elven woman's life must've been like living in the alienage. Mercifully, the couple already arrived at one of the city's local tailoring shops, their wares on display on tables outside for all to see while the workers stayed in.

Approaching, Conan smiled at the two old women behind their tables, ignoring the scornful eye they gave both him and his mistress.

"I need some clothes for my friend here. Got all the gold you need right here," he said. He didn't notice Elene wince at the word 'friend'.

The women exchanged glances with one another, then said, "You better."

"Yea, we're not here to help out with your... escapades," said the other, sizing up Elene and evidently thinking the same as what the goat tender did from before. Often enough, the women would have hotshots come in, buying nice things for some harlot or another, only to not have any money and try to 'pay them later'. It didn't work then, and it certainly wouldn't now, no matter how nice the smile of the man before them was. Especially not with the knife ear at his side. "Gold up front, now. Or you get nothing."

Conan ignored the comment and tossed the gold before them with a solid thud against the table, accompanied with the universally recognized jingle of real coin. "Get to work, please, we haven't got all day," he said, clearly irritated by their assumptions.

The women grumbled, but they dare not say a thing at the presence of sovereigns. The first who spoke took Elene by hand to drag her into their shop, which she wasn't exactly happy about. Looking back worriedly for Conan, she gave him the eye, hoping he'd come along. He tried, but the grouchy old bag closed the door shut in his face before locking it away, leaving him alone with the other.

"Most people don't bother clothing their prostitutes. My sister and I only see a few. They're never Maker fearing types, Trevelyan," said the sister.

"She's _not_," he said simply, expression stony at hearing the same tired insult for the second time today. "You know my family?"

"Isn't she though," said the woman, this time under her breath. "And yes, I know your father. He came here, looking for a dress for your mother, not too long ago. Just like you."

Conan heard her comment anyway and ignored her attempt to change the subject to his father, knowing that she was trying to distract him with thoughts of what he'd say about his chosen company.

"No, she's NOT. I swear, the next person I hear say that today will see blood. Shut your damn mouth! And you can tell my father the same, in case you feel like running your mouth, crone." Conan's stony expression quickly fell to anger, but fortunately for her, she was not so anxious to test the man's words.

By the time Elene came back out, she had several garments in her arms, but it wasn't those that caught Conan's attention.

"What do you think?" she asked, uncomfortable from the long pause he gave and by the angry look on his face when she stepped out. That anger soon faded to something else, but she couldn't tell what the look in his eye meant at the sight of her chosen attire. She came out with a cream colored dress with weak arm straps that she'd regularly have to readjust, and a thin material that made it very easy to see the press of her nipples, which was clearly a detail not lost upon Conan. She smiled, knowing it wouldn't be. Neither it, nor the weak thin straps were accidental, nor was the new crimson paint upon her thick lips adorning her smile.

"You look lovely, Elene," said Conan, admiring how the dress hugged her, the color seeming like just a slightly lighter shade of her own skin. And her lips... it stood out wonderfully amongst the tan brown of her skin, the cream of her dress and the black of her raven hair. His eyes were drawn to it, and the only thought that went through his mind was how he desired to press his own mundane ones against hers. As the two parted ways with the old woman, clothes in tow, they weren't the only ones that the pair scandalized in their march across Ostwick's streets.

After dropping the rest of her clothes off at the estate, the two continued their walk together, now that there was time not to worry about being put on the street. Or crawling back to his father and becoming a Templar. Curiously, the elven woman looked at him and said, "Why are you doing this?"

With a queer look he said, "Doing what exactly?"

"All of it."

Conan said, "It helps to be more specific."

With frustration in her eyes, she said, "You know... all of it. I thought you'd have kicked me out of your home by now. It's not like finding an elven woman for your needs is hard."

Conan paused, as if to think of an answer to that for the first time, but instead of answering the question, he put his arm over her shoulder again, and rubbed at her nipple through her dress playfully. "I think you think too much, Elene."

A squawk of surprise escaped her at his sudden fondling again, gaining more strange looks from passers by, but he just kept at it as though nothing was amiss once he and Elene's back was all they could see.

"You, have no shame," she said, hand over his as he played, glad that her choice in attire was appreciated. The blush covering her face along with her grin told him this was good. "What about your family? Your business? Don't you think it might not be the smartest thing to parade your elven mistress about?"

"To be honest," he said, "I don't care anymore. I am tired. Tired of letting others lead my life. I'm not doing that anymore. So if they..."

"AAH!" cried Elene and Conan both, a burst of smoke cutting off their path before three dwarves appeared before them, daggers dancing in their hands.

"Rough 'em up!" yelled the one in the middle, a dwarf with a long red beard that looked as smooth as Elene's dress. Elene stepped forward suddenly, eyes aglow with anger and the fresh energy surging through her from the fade. Conan put an arm over her however and stood before them all.

"No bloodshed," he said to her. The fire rising through her spirit demanded that she be allowed to vanquish the ones who sought to hurt them, but she knew the wisdom of letting him handle things. If anyone saw her using magic, this dream, this little fantasy of theirs would be over.

Almost as quickly as the fight was in fact. Conan kicked the ringleader in the chest so hard that he thought he might've collapsed his lung. The other on the right jumped high while the one on the left went low to bring the big man down, but Conan quickly jumped as his fist connected with the high flying stubby Dwarf's chin. The one on the bottom missed and went right under him, surprised at the nimbleness of the human, but didn't have long to think on it, as his companion soon found himself on the ground over him. Conan couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the two as they struggled to get up from under each other, but his smile faded when some men his size suddenly came from around the corner with clubs.

Elene was smiling too until she saw the pair, but she didn't have time to think about Conan when she heard another dwarf come up behind her. Thinking her an easy target, the dwarf came at her with his fists, but soon found himself flat on the ground, hands to his face. Elene surprised him with a subtle spell cast, covering her hand partly with a layer of stone before breaking it on his nose right between the eyes.

Meanwhile, Conan ducked under a swing from a human man in what he guessed was mercenary armor, punching him the jaw before jumping back to avoid the other man's club. The man saw it coming and faked his swing instead and swung for where he leaped. Conan braced for it, letting it smack into his arm so that the merc was close enough to punch in the throat. Gasping for air and hands at his neck, he dropped his club in time for Conan to take his weapon and smack his friend in the face. Just as he recovered his breath, Conan hit him across the back with his own weapon twice before he was sure neither of them would be getting up for a while.

Behind him, two of the three dwarves came with their daggers in hand. "Come on, you two. I really don't like beating up on children. Go back to your boss and tell them I'm not breaking!"

"Screw you, ya girly haired sissy!" said the one Conan punched earlier. They both charged him, but one missed so comically bad that Conan thought he might've been drunk, which wouldn't have been surprising one bit. He leaped forward so hard that he slammed his cranium straight into a stone wall behind him with a very audible crack! The other dropped his daggers suddenly, looking as though he'd seen a demon and finally ran away.

Looking confused, he approached Elene, who was calmly standing aside, watching the show with a big smile on her face. "Did you see that? I'm certain that was Carta, but I thought they'd have better fighters. I'm fairly certain that one by the wall is either blind or drunk... or both!"

"Well that's good for us, Hero Man," she said with a mischievous smile.

"Hey, you're bleeding!" he said.

"What? No I-It's nothing," she said as Conan grabbed her hand. A neat little slit was cut right at the tip of her finger, and Conan looked as though someone just defaced a priceless sculpture. "One of the dwarves came at me with daggers. I took care of it." Conan noticed a dagger on the ground at her feet, slightly bloodied. With worried eyes, she parted her lips to further explain, but she was quiet again as he placed the injured fingertip in his mouth while he tore a short piece of cloth from the sleeve of his shirt.

"Conan, it's nothing," she said, face flushed.

"Quiet," said Conan as he tied it around her finger. Smiling when his work was done, he said, "There."

Smirking up at him, she said, "Good job, really. But..." As she spoke, green energy in the shape of bubbles pooled at her palm before flying around her covered finger and causing the tip to glow. Conan watched, his own cheeks flushed now from embarrassment as she pulled the cloth away, showing the injury was completely healed.

"You could have said you healed things."

"I tried to tell you. It wasn't that deep anyway. But thank you," said Elene.

Conan's hands slid across her cheek, brushing her luscious black hair behind her pretty pointed ear. He thought the shape convenient, so that her hair wouldn't shroud her alluring smile. Her eyes were so big and beautiful, and gave her an aura of mystique as they stared into his. Holding her to him, her head on his chest, he said, "I can't let anything happen to you, Elene. I must do something about these Carta."

"We will do something," she said, glancing around at the men still on the ground. "What are you planning?"

"I will address them, and I will work with the Carta... but on _my_ terms. They'll do as I say or not at all. I'll strike while their influence in this city is weak."

Looking around again, she said, "That may be too late... you notice that this street is empty now? I doubt that was a coincidence. They did this."

"You think?" he asked. Elene shook her head to confirm.

"I know."

"How?" he asked.

After a pause, she said, "I just do... isn't it obvious?" Changing the subject, Elene grabbed his arm and pulled up his sleeve. Exhaling, she said, "Your arm!"

"It's fine," he said, trying to dismiss the pain. The club from earlier could have broken his arm if he hadn't braced for it, but he surely felt as though it might've anyway.

Elene placed a finger over his mouth. "Quiet, you. I can heal this. But first..." Elene turned, looking around the street to make sure that they were still alone. Satisfied that they were, she released dark energy from her hands that made the squirming carta dwarves and mercs fall to sleep instantly.

"Elene, no bloodshed!" He said worriedly.

She turned, looking at him curiously. "Why are you so insistent on not killing them?"

"Because, we have no reason to," he said. "They are subdued. Let them live." Conan had more reason than that to let them go. He wanted the Carta to know exactly how their attempt to scare him went, and he knew dealing with them would be easier without their blood on his hands. But moreover, Conan wasn't one to needlessly kill if it could be avoided.

Elene soon realized this, and it confused her a good deal, but she couldn't help but smile proudly at his sense of honor, even if she thought it... unfortunate.

"Don't worry, this isn't lethal. It'll make sure they don't get up for a while, so the guards can have them. And this will make sure they give a frightening retelling of events when their boss gets them back." As she spoke, another wave of dark magic oozed from her palm, black smoke falling over the area like fog before dissipating into the men as they slumbered.

Conan watched in fascination as their quiet slumber suddenly turned into restlessness, their eyes visibly darting around as they mumbled in their sleep. "What did you do?" he asked.

"Exactly what I said. When they wake, they'll remember a much more intimidating you. That'll give the Carta something to think about. Come," she said, pulling Conan by his hand and not giving him a chance to protest. She pulled him along until they found other people in the city again, and into an empty watchtower overlooking a grassy clearing near the city wall. They reached the top of the stoney construction, the only part large enough for them to really stand next to one another.

"Why here?" he asked, watching her as she rolled up his sleeve.

"Because, it's small enough that I know we won't be followed, and I'd rather heal this as soon as possible." The magic green bubbles flowed from her hand once more, encompassing his arm as her palm rested at his large biceps. She smiled, biting her lower lip as he sighed from the tingling sensation he felt.

"Oh, that feels good," he said, hand at her hip while she finished her work.

She tried to ask how his arm felt, but when he backed her against the wall onto a Free Marcher banner, his hand once again at her breast as his other hand rested at the back of her head, she knew her magic had worked just fine. He was so close to her, in this tiny place. It was almost dark, except for the moderately sized window letting light pour in on the two. All was quiet except for their breathing and the sounds of sheep below. Her breathing. Why was she breathing so hard...

"Elene..."

"Yes, Conan?"

His hand left her bosom and traced along her cheek. "Tell me what happened to you."

Her eyes, locked with his ice blue gaze suddenly grew clouded. "Why are you..."

"I saw the look in your eyes when that man.." Elene's hand grabbed at his beard, pulling him into a kiss so hard that his breath left him, as did hers. Now they were both breathing hard, and she could feel his heart beating as her hands rested against his barrel chest.

"Please... I don't want to think of that life again," she said as a tear escaped her. "You make me forget everything. I just want to forget, for now."

Conan kissed at the salty tear before kissing her lips, their tongues flickering at one another before she pushed into his mouth again. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise," he said. "Somehow, I'll make this city a better place for you. For all mages."

"Don't do it because you think you... that you..." She didn't want to say the word... as though saying it would banish it away from him. But when he lifted her chin with a rough finger, his look... she could almost see it...

"I'll do it because I want to. I can't help but think about others like you and wanting to help them. And... I-" She silenced him again with a kiss, afraid to let him finish. Her hip started to grind against him as his did the same, and her hands pulled at the opening in his shirt so that they could run through the hair of his chest.

Now she had what she wanted since earlier at her desk, since days ago in fact. Weeks even. But this was somehow different... what she was feeling as his hands slid up her stomach and between her small breasts, the feel of his warm breath at her neck... his touching slow and deliberate... and excruciating as each touch just made her want him more, but at the same time, she wanted it to last forever.

That didn't last too long though, and soon she pulled down those same weak straps at her shoulders and put his hand at her left breast. She gasped in surprise as he took it a step further, sucking eagerly at them, his tongue dancing across her nipples as he alternated between them both. Slow.

She worked at his belt, in a hurry to have him inside her now. His pants fell over his boots as she hitched up her dress, showing him that she didn't bother wearing any of the undergarments she purchased from earlier. There wasn't enough room for either of them to remove much else, but Elene didn't care. She jumped up, arms around his shoulders and awkwardly wrapped her legs around his waist as best she could. She was thoroughly slick now with anticipation, but still Conan teased her, taking his time and enjoying her nearness as he whispered into her ears about how amazingly beautiful the elven woman was.

His hand rubbed his lower head between her legs as he let her grind on him, up and down his shaft with her chubby center. Finally, she could feel him trying to slide into her, pushing her loose skin aside with ease. She was still such a tight fit on him, but she was dripping with such desire, so hot... so moist... the friction on him made him lose all sense of subtlety and his whispers of desire turned to exclamations, harsh yet strangely soothing. She soon matched them, his strong legs pushing her up and down against the walls. The banner of the free marches threatened to fall from their vigorous movements, the grey horse in mid stride bucking as much as Conan was, running through her over and over, the wet sounds of his slow but powerful strokes filling the small space between them.

He looked into her eyes, and she was still crying, whether from the pain of past memories, her ecstasy or what, he did not know, but seeing them made his chest heavy with guilt. She cried out and demanded for him to keep going, and his mind went blank again to all but the feel of him pushing her inner resistances away, and the warmth of her skin, the sweetness of her voice as she said his name, the need to be near her constantly, and the fear of losing her constantly. She felt it too, and all of these desires and worries combined with the pleasure of him stretching her more and more fed her desire to wet his chest with her tears.

Her hand traveled down to his bottom, squeezing intensely and urging him to go harder. He did, happily as he came nearer to the end. "I love you," he said, mind completely filled with this thought, all senses revolving around her. The sight of her beautiful fiery eyes, the smell of her hair as he nipped and sucked at her ear, the feel of her soft breasts shaking and rubbing against his chest, the taste of her mouth as he seized it once more. And finally, the realization that yes! He did! He loved Elene and wanted nothing more than to make her happy.

"And I love you!" she yelled, this proclamation almost as shocking as the feel of him budding deep within her, and in places that she didn't even know she had. "Ooh!" She cried, and her hand gripped his ass again, and he cried out too in shock, literally, as a tiny spark escaped her trembling hands.

The accidental magic cast made him buck at her once, twice, then finally he came, his release once again so powerful, his feeling of being vulnerable within her leaving him all at once. His head rolled back and she buried her own cries in his chest as she licked and nipped at his nipple. She kept her lips there as he continued releasing in her, and they stayed at the wall for even longer, hearing nothing but their lips smacking and the sounds of him dripping from her hot center.

He eased her down now, but kept her dress hitched up. His fingers traveled between her and he let their movements and his friction over her nub fight out any last tremblings that might've stubbornly remained. There weren't any, but she selfishly let him continue until she found them anyway, rubbing at her breast and beckoning him to tug at them some more with his mouth like she knew he so loved to do. Finally, she exhaled heavily, proclaiming herself sated in doing so. But while her physical urges were for now gone, leaving the satisfying feeling of being slightly bruised within, her desire to be close to him still remained strong.

"Do you really? Are you certain?" she asked.

"What do you mean, Elene?"

"Love me. How could you know? So soon."

"I know," he said. "I've never met such a formidable woman like you. Smart, strong... It pains me to see you hurt, and I'll do anything to take that hurt from you."

She started laugh then and instantly hated herself for it. "I'm sorry, it's just so hard for me to believe... But when you look at me like that... I think I might be foolish enough to believe it."

"Good," he said. "Because I do."

She stayed quiet again, trying to fight back the tears and failing. She wanted to believe it so much, so she did. She held him tight in that small space, nothing left but the sheep below and his heartbeat in her ears, still racing as though he were still deep within her. And in a way, he was.

* * *

Much later, the two finally made their way home, eager to spend the rest of their day in temporary respite together in his room. Her dress was now wrinkled and his shirt now torn at the top, but she was still as radiant as ever to him, and he as gallant in appearance as a king in shining armor.

The two were staring so intensely at one another that it made it very obvious to everyone what they'd just done. The moment was once again killed however when they heard a familiar voice from across the street.

"Elven whore! Go back to the alienage, rabbit!"

This time, Conan didn't brush his finger at her neck, telling her not to be upset. "Conan, don't!" She yelled, but it was too late.

Conan came marching over with murder in his eyes, and the goat milker stepped up to greet him. "I'm not afraid of you, traitor!" he said. "Come on! C- aahhh!"

Conan grabbed the man and brought him over his head before he even had time to swing at him. Squirming and cursing, the man was helpless and could only watch as he tossed his tubby butt through the window of his home with a crash. It was some time before he got up, but when he did, he saw Conan walking back to his woman and said, "She's still a whore, boy! A common knife ear!"

Conan stopped walking and turned back around. This time the man was armed with a pitchfork, which he held at the ready to pierce Conan if he got too close. He wasn't Conan's target however.

"No! Not that! Not Bessie!" he yelled, but Conan wasn't hearing it. He grabbed Bessie by the horns and swung her around and tossed the man's prized goat straight at his home with a splat as its head hit the walls, painting it with its blood.

Conan turned back now, spitting into the bucket of fresh milk and ignoring the man's curses and threats to take this up with the Bann. Elene was laughing, hand at her stomach at the sight of the whole spectacle, even if no one else who was watching was. Arm around his once more, she said, "So much for no bloodshed today."

"Should have done that from the start. Come on, I shall have at you again before the day's end!"

"You shall not!" She cried, running off playfully, only to have Conan lift her up and throw her over his shoulders as the two went back to the estate. There would be more bloodshed in the end when they came to blows with the Carta, but for now she couldn't care less. And neither did he.


End file.
